Psalms 38:13-14

38:13 But I am like a deaf man – I hear nothing;

I am like a mute who cannot speak. ¹ 

38:14 I am like a man who cannot hear

and is incapable of arguing his defense. ² 

Psalms 39:1

Psalm 39 ³ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

39:1 I decided, ⁴  “I will watch what I say

and make sure I do not sin with my tongue. ⁵ 

I will put a muzzle over my mouth

while in the presence of an evil man.” ⁶ 

Proverbs 9:7

9:7 Whoever corrects ⁷  a mocker is asking for ⁸  insult; ⁹ 

whoever reproves a wicked person receives ¹⁰  abuse.

Proverbs 26:4

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, ¹¹ 

lest you yourself also be like him. ¹² 

Amos 5:13

5:13 For this reason whoever is smart ¹³  keeps quiet ¹⁴  in such a time,

for it is an evil ¹⁵  time.

Matthew 7:6

7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces. ¹⁶ 

[38:13]  ¹ sn I am like a deaf man…like a mute. The psalmist is like a deaf mute; he is incapable of defending himself and is vulnerable to his enemies’ deception (see v. 14).

[38:14]  ² tn Heb “and there is not in his mouth arguments.”

[39:1]  ³ sn Psalm 39. The psalmist laments his frailty and mortality as he begs the Lord to take pity on him and remove his disciplinary hand.

[39:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “I said.”

[39:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “I will watch my ways, from sinning with my tongue.”

[39:1]  ⁶ sn The psalmist wanted to voice a lament to the Lord (see vv. 4-6), but he hesitated to do so in the presence of evil men, for such words might be sinful if they gave the wicked an occasion to insult God. See C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms (ICC), 1:345.

[9:7]  ⁷ tn The active participle יֹסֵר (yoser) describes one who tries to correct by means of instruction and discipline; it is paralleled by the Hiphil participle which refers to someone who rebukes or reproves another. Anyone trying this on these types of people would be inviting trouble.

[9:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “receives for himself.”

[9:7]  ⁹ tn The word means “dishonor” or “disgrace.” It is paralleled with מוּמוֹ (mumo), translated “abuse.” The latter term means “blemish,” although some would emend the text to read “reproach.” The MT is figurative but not impossible to interpret: Whoever tries to rebuke a wicked person will receive only insults and perhaps physical attack.

[9:7]  ¹⁰ tn The verb “receives” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[26:4]  ¹¹ sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

[26:4]  ¹² sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.

[5:13]  ¹³ tn Or “the wise”; or “the prudent.” Another option is to translate “the successful, prosperous” and understand this as a reference to the rich oppressors. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 169-70. In this case the following verb will also have a different nuance, that is, the wealthy remain silent before the abuses they perpetuate. See the note on the verb translated “keeps quiet” later in this verse.

[5:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “moans, laments,” from a homonymic verbal root. If the rich oppressors are in view, then the verb (whether translated “will be silenced” or “will lament”) describes the result of God’s judgment upon them. See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ tn If this is a judgment announcement against the rich, then the Hebrew phrase עֵת רָעָה (’et ra’ah) must be translated, “[a] disastrous time.” See G. V. Smith, Amos, 170.

[7:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).